Texas defeated Kansas. But it certainly did not feel like a win.

With 12 seconds left, backup quarterback Case McCoy saved Mack Brown from what would have been the worst loss in his tenure at Texas.

McCoy replaced David Ash in the fourth quarter and made the most of it.  His 16-yard pass to Jaxon Shipley on fourth and six and his 39-yard pass to Mike Davis gave the Longhorns a first and goal with less than 1:30 left.

After the offense tried to run it twice, McCoy sealed the win for the Longhorns on a third down touchdown pass to D.J. Grant, making the final score 21-17.

“The offensive staff thought [McCoy} was ready to go,” Mack Brown said. “We thought Case was prepared and he gave us the little momentum that we needed to get it turned in the right direction and we made some speed plays there. We did things that we needed to be doing with him.”

While the defense has been receiving the blunt of the criticism this season, the offense was the problem Saturday.

Ash, and the rest of the offense, struggled throughout the game. He went 8-for-16 for 63-yards and two interceptions. The Longhorns only finished four of their 12 third down conversions. Before the game, the Longhorns were tied for tenth in the country in red zone offense.  But they went three-for-five against Kansas.

While the offense could not capitalize, the defense continued to be thwarted by the run. Kansas accumulated 234 yards rushing with 178 of those yards coming from James Sims. Missed tackles were less of an issue last weekend against Baylor, but the defense seemed to take a step back Saturday with missed tackles which allowed the Jayhawks to gain crucial yards.

The Jayhawks saw the Longhorns’ weak point and dominated the defense on the ground. Quarterback Michael Cummings went three-for-nine and didn’t even throw a pass in the second and third quarters.

Texas scored on its first drive of the game when Joe Bergeron ran the ball in for a 3 yard touchdown run. Texas would not find the end zone again until the fourth quarter.

Kansas’ Tony Pierson scored on an 11-yard run and Christian Matthews added a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put the Jayhawks up 14-7. Marquise Goodwin sparked the struggling Texas offense when he rushed for 41 yards and later scored on an 11-yard run to tie the game at 14 in the fourth quarter.

Johnathan Gray had his best game of the season and led the Longhorns with 111 rushing yards. The other running backs did not make an impact. While they were ineffective, Ash could not get anything going and threw two picks. Both interceptions were deep in Kansas territory.

The Longhorns were favored by 21 points and defeated the Jayhawks 43-0 last season. While they did pull out the win and became bowl eligible, they took major steps backward and it looks like another quarterback controversy may be around the corner.

Printed on Monday, October 29, 2012 as: Horns survive scare at KU: last-minute TD catch by Grant propels Texas past Jayhawks